The Heart That Desires Beauty

One of my pleasures is to have an interest in new topics. Interest in new topics begins with encounter. New or unfamiliar encounters can help you to become interested in new topics. For me, the encounter is opening. New encounters begin new openings. The opening is like a small door. But when you open and enter that small door, a new world unfolds. Small openings lead us to greater and deeper openings. The important thing is to enter the narrowly opened door courageously. As you enter the door, you will see what you have not seen before, know what you did not know, and realize what you did not realize. You will experience what you have never experienced before. You will feel something you have never felt before.

I had an interest in beauty for a while. As soon as the small door of beauty opened, I entered the door. That door is the door to learning the world of beauty. I have lived with an interest in beauty for a long time. But I don’t think I’ve had a concentrated interest in beauty. Recently I have learned a lot about beauty while concentrating on the topic.

I am a person who has experienced many mysteries of being interested. When I am interested in a subject and embrace it, the subject often catches my eye. A book or person comes to me to teach me about a subject I am interested in. What is even more surprising is that the topic is caught by my eyes whenever I read any books. Also, whenever I read a book, I relate the book with the topic of interest at that time. Through such a process, I can go deeper into the topics that I am interested in. Since I became interested in beauty, I often get in touch with the verses about beauty whenever I read the Bible. Especially in the Psalms we often see the word beauty.

Everyone loves beauty. It is difficult to answer if you ask what beauty means, but everyone likes beauty. We like beautiful scenery, beautiful love, beautiful smiles, beautiful music, beautiful paintings, beautiful poems, beautiful languages, beautiful dramas, and beautiful stories. We are interested in beauty because we are beautiful children of God. All beauty come from God. We, who are created according to the image of the beautiful God, desire for beauty. We long for beauty.

Beauty is a pause. Beauty stops us. It allows us to stop and to see, and to stay for a long time. I stopped by a bookstore some time ago and listened to music for long time because it was beautiful. I was fascinated by the beautiful melody and beautiful voice. The power of beauty is the power to stop us. The power to stop us and to make us see again, and the power make us hear again, is the power of beauty. It is the power of beauty that makes us want to see more and hear more.

Beauty is attraction. When we look at beautiful scenes, we are attracted to it. Beauty is the power to attract us. Beauty draws us to resemble it. We want to resemble beautiful character and beautiful love. Inside us there is a wish to be more beautiful than before. Beauty is mysterious. Beauty is not only in appearance. True beauty is in inner being. There is beauty in the invisible goodness, sincerity and soft heart. But we cannot ignore appearance at all. Because the beautiful expression and mood flows from the beautiful heart. In such a way, you will see that the mood of the face becomes beautiful when you cultivate your heart to be beautiful. You cannot change the shape of the face, but you can change the mood of the face as much as you like.

David was a man who knew beauty. He was a poet. He was a singer. He was a musician playing the harp. His source of beauty was God. He longed for the beauty of God. "One thing I ask from the Lord, this only do I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze on the beauty of the Lord and to seek him in his temple.” (Ps. 27: 4). The reason I am interested in beauty is to know more about the beauty of God. I hope we all become more beautiful when we gaze at the beauty of God. Community means to look at the beauty of God in each person’s image as we look at each other. My joy is to look at you and to see the beauty of God. Shalom.

(Photo : Courtesy of New Life Vision Church)

Reverend Joshua Choon-Min Kang is the senior pastor of New Life Vision Church, located in Los Angeles. This is one of the weekly letters he writes to his congregation. For the original, visit www.nlvc.org.